THE ATTORNEY General has today applied to the High Court for new inquests to be held into the deaths of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

THE ATTORNEY General has today applied to the High Court for new inquests to be held into the deaths of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

Dominic Grieve has lodged papers to quash the original “accidental death” verdicts which have for 23 years prevented any meaningful inquiry into the lack of care received by the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in Sheffield.

“This document is what I’ve been fighting the system to get hold of for 23 years.

“I can’t believe I’ve finally got it here in front of me in black and white.

“I just keep looking at the words over and over again in case I’m seeing things or reading it wrong.

“I’ve had all this evidence for a long time and presented it to previous Attorney Generals, who didn’t do their job properly and rejected it for supposedly ‘not being in the interests of justice’.

“It is terrible how this has gone on for so long but the main thing is the right things are now happening.

“I just hope there isn’t too much red tape involved and they are able to set a date for Kevin’s inquest soon.”

The Attorney General’s office said the application aims to meet tests set out in Section 13 of the Coroners Act, the most relevant of which are the discovery of new facts or evidence and that it is necessary or desirable in the interests of justice that new inquests should be held.

The main ground for the application is the new medical evidence that 41 fans had the “potential to survive” beyond original coroner Stefan Popper’s 3.15pm cut-off point.

A supporting factor is also the revelation that police and ambulance service statements were changed to shift blame onto fans.

The safety record of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium is also another supporting element.

The views of the families were sought before filing the application, an all support the quashing of the inquests and the ordering of new ones.

The coroners for South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire (in the case of Tony Bland, who died in 1993 when his life support machine was switched off) were also contacted and support the application.

The application will now be heard by the High Court, but a date has not yet been set for the hearing.

Read our original story from earlier today >>>>

3pm story

THE definitive application to quash the original Hillsborough inquests is set to be made today or tomorrow by the Attorney General.

The accidental death verdicts, which have for 23 years prevented any meaningful inquiry into the lack of care received by the 96 Liverpool fans who lost their lives in Sheffield, have been reviewed by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve in the wake of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report's findings .

His application to the High Court will seek to quash the original verdict - paving the way for new inquests.

Anne Williams , who has campaigned tirelessly for over two decades to get justice for her 15-year-old son Kevin, received the news that her fourth memorial to the Attorney General was likely to prove successful from her solicitor Elkan Abrahamson.

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